Focusing Screens...which is the best & which type?

I've been trying to shoot a lot using manual focusing. Its very difficult, I must say, having a crop body and standard focusing screen. A friend of mine told me to get an Ef-D or an Ef-S (precision matte), and also mentioned trying on a Katzeye. He said it will make my focusing a lot easier & more precise! I searched over the net & there are a lot of them of which I don't have any knowledge of. [:'(]





Can you please help me out so I can enjoy focusing manually? BTW, I have a Canon 40D w/ standard screen.

If there's one focusing screen I want, it would be the Ef-D grid screen. Helps even out the horizon. Sorry, I don't have the focusing screen as it is hard to find them here in my place.

With a fast lens, the EF-S will help with careful manual focus. It is very useful for macro and low light.


I use the grid viewfinder and like it quite a bit. It is useful in keeping straight lines and the horizon where I want them. Digital makes me a care a bit less since I can always straighten them out in post, but that takes time and isn't much fun. It is also helpful in composition. I think it is worth the money. One complaint: the focus points don't line up all that well with the grid as it seems like they should. It isn't a practical issue, but I think it is somewhat sloppy engineering.

I think you will like this: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/46978-my-k20d-katzeye-review-pictures.html It is amazing how accurate you can manual focus with this focusing screen.


You have several options and it can be a little confusing to compare them. Katzeye are making high quality focusing screens but there are other options out there.


Haoda: http://haodascreen.com/default.aspx and http://www.focusingscreen.com/ just to mention two options.


I would buy from Katzeye. If you have lenses between f:2.8-5.6 OR a mix of slow and fast lenses buy the Optibrite version. If you have only fast lenses, f:1.2-2,8 buy the KatzEye “Plus” Split Prism w/Microprism Collar version: http://www.katzeyeoptics.com/item--Canon-40D-50D-Focusing-Screen--prod_40D.html


PS! Spotmetering will not work with 3rd party focusing screens. You can still use it of course but it will be way off. You must totally rely on the histogram to get correct exposures.


You could also buy the original focusing screens from Canon. The Ef-S version is good and will not affect spot metering. There seems to be different options about this one. It is much better suited for manual focusing but it is really for fast lenses only, it darkens a bit with slower lenses. The Katzeye version with Optibrite is better if you are going to use a mix of lenses. The Ef-S screen does not have microprism collar.


If you also want a bigger viewfinder you could buy a magnifier like the KPS 1.35X. It will make manual focusing even better and make the viewfinder as big as the 1Ds-series. (Relatively) I have one and I like it.





- Johnny